On March 13, AJC reporter Dan Chapman filed a story that is nothing more than a re-hash of events that have already taken place and of information that has already be cleared up. Mr. Chapman was sent complete information that explains the accounting issue, along with letters from the State Auditor and reports from the Attorney General that show that the claims against the Jekyll Island State Park Authority are not true. Below are a few points to consider as you read this article:

1. The headline is remarkably similar to that used by Sen. Chapman in his discredited press release.

2. The writer refers to Sen. Chapman as the “region’s top legislator…” One must recognize House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons), Senator Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) and Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams (R-Lyons). No disrespect to Sen. Chapman, but Rep. Cecily Hill (R-Kingsland) and Rep. Roger Lane (R-Darien) also appear to have more legislation and more committee appointments.

3. The State Auditor is Russell Hinton, and he has sent letters acknowledging that Jekyll Island Authority’s numbers do add up! Mr. Thornton is a staff person in the Department of Audits. We have talked to Mr. Hinton, and so have many legislators that wanted to get a direct an explanation.

4. Dan Chapman, along with Sen. Chapman play with words with respect to the 2006 Annual Report. It shows a net loss, after depreciation! Most people know that depreciation is a non-cash expense, so yes the Earnings Statement shows a loss. But when you convert it to cash flow, the Jekyll Island Authority did not lose money. We are not allowed to by statute, we must be financially self-supporting. And of course when you add Grant Funds, you have even more money. But then you also have to look at the expense side of those, and all that money was spent on specific capital improvement projects.

5. The words “local sales tax revenues used for sewer projects…” refers to SPLOST projects on Jekyll Island that were approved by voters of Glynn County. Just like Grants that do not have to be repaid, SPLOST funds go directly on the balance sheet against the specific capital improvement project. We think it would be more misleading to include that on an Earnings Statement.

6. Dan Chapman repeats a quote from Sen. Chapman that the Jekyll Island Authority is “crying wolf.” I asked Dan Chapman to look at our Annual Reports or any other communication that the Jekyll Island Authority has put out, and honestly determine if we do anything of the sort. All of our communication is about positive accomplishments. The simple fact is that we identified the clear downward trend in visitation and started talking about how to solve it many years ago. That is the basis we have used for the initiative to revitalize Jekyll Island. We have not pointed to year-to-year variations in statistics, but the long-term downward trend and how to reverse it.

Even if you want to acknowledge Mr. Egan’s assertion that visitation is down only 15%, it is still accurate to say that the trend is downward, that it is “lagging” as it is counter to the tremendous growth in the region both in terms of population and tourism.

7. Dan Chapman failed to mention that Sen. Chapman’s concern over the Trammell Crow agreement was reviewed by the Attorney General and he found no problems with it, and that it is incorrect to call it a tax abatement nor does it violate the gratuities law. The Attorney General determined it is a standard property lease.

8. I understand the local radio talk show host took particular offense to my quote at the end of the article. That quote was pulled from my statement to Dan Chapman specific to the question over the traffic data between 1996-1997, not financial information. I was trying to explain the purpose of compiling these visitation numbers, and that the focus of our analysis will be to determine the optimum amount of visitation for the experience we want guests to have on Jekyll Island. We are looking forward, and want to have expert analysis help answer this important question.

9. Lastly, the chart again only chooses to show the revenue differences. As we have shown, there are also expense differences that net out to basically reflect the fact that we put Grants right onto our balance sheet as an asset, and the Audit Department converts them to revenue to incorporate into their CAFR. So they have only shown half of the story.

Chairman Porter responds:

“Mr. Chapman is consistent. He consistently tells half of the story, and doesn’t bother to check sources and learn the other half. As usual, his story today contains partial, incorrect information intended to mislead the public.”

Tags: atlanta journal constitution, Dan Chapman, Jeff Chapman, jekyll island authority
Posted in Just the Facts | No Comments »

Ben Porter, Chairman of the Jekyll Island State Park Authority, issued the following statement:

Statements contained in a news release issued yesterday by State Senator Jeff Chapman are false and are intentionally misleading.  Mr. Chapman’s news release grossly and deliberately misrepresented facts and implied impropriety regarding the financial reporting practices of the Jekyll Island State Park Authority. 

The Authority has not “withheld financial information from the public.”  There is no “unreported fund of eleven million dollars.”  No money received by the Authority has been “hidden from public view.”  All Authority financial information is reported on a regular basis and is a matter of public record.

Mr. Chapman’s repeated attempts to derail the revitalization of Jekyll Island have failed.  Now, he has resorted to false claims to further his effort.

The Senator’s claim of improper reporting of Jekyll visitation by the Authority is also false and misleading.  Mr. Chapman is well aware that conventions, hotel occupancy, golf courses, the Water Park and all visitation to Jekyll have declined in recent years.

Members of the Jekyll Island State Park Authority will provide additional information at hearings to be conducted by Senate and House legislative committees Thursday afternoon.

The Jekyll Island Authority will revitalize Jekyll Island, as directed by the Governor and The Georgia Legislature, for the benefit of nine million Georgians.

Tags: Jeff Chapman, jekyll island authority, jekyll island facts, jekyll island financial reporting
Posted in Just the Facts | 2 Comments »

Tue, Feb 26, 2008 By ANNA FERGUSON , The Brunswick News

      Jim Langford remains calm in the face of adversity.

      Despite a row of hurdles tossed his way in recent weeks, he has yet to break a sweat.

      As project manager for the revitalization Linger Longer Communities is proposing for Jekyll Island, Langford has met with supporters and opponents, backers and detractors.

      The $341 million plan calls for new hotels, convention center and condominiums.
Opposition is not unexpected. And it’s not as bad as it sounds, he said.

      ”We expected to have opposition to our plan,” Langford said. “But everything is still very much on track. We’re not deterred in the least.”

       Resistance to the plan as outlined by the Jekyll Island Authority and Linger Longer, its private sector partner, extends all the way to the Georgia General Assembly, where bills introduced in the House and Senate threaten to stop or alter the project in a major way.

       The most recent legislation was introduced Thursday in the Georgia General Assembly by Democrats, who are calling for greater preservation efforts to be utilized in the redevelopment plan for the island. Introduced by Rep. Debbie Buckner, D-Columbus, House Bill 1289 calls for revitalization of the island to be energy efficient, affordable and away from Jekyll’s sand dunes.

       The Democratic bill comes several weeks after Sen. Jeff Chapman, R-Brunswick, announced a few measures of his own. Chapman, a long-time opponent to Linger Longer’s $341 million revamping blueprint, introduced bills earlier this month that would essentially put an end to the project.

      Despite the newly launched measures, the Linger Longer agenda is moving forward with overwhelming support from local government, the business community and the Jekyll Island Legislative Oversight Committee, Langford said.

       “We still feel that we are being supported,” he said. “These new bills are pretty unreasonable and we think that is pretty obvious.”

       Ed Boshears, former state senator and a member of the board of the Jekyll Island Authority, doesn’t understand why debate over the new legislative measures is necessary. Linger Longer’s plans are not set in stone and are in the process of being reworked, he said.

       In other words, it’s too soon to take sides, he said.

         “I don’t see what everyone is so worked up about,” Boshears said. “The Linger Longer plan has yet to be finalized. We don’t know what the exact plan will be yet.

        Everyone is looking at this as if it’s either-or. Either you are for Linger Longer or against it. But you can be for Linger Longer without being for every aspect of their plan.”

Tags: Jeff Chapman, jekyll island, jekyll island revitalization, linger longer
Posted in Just the Facts | 1 Comment »